Easter Week or Semana Santa is a beach holiday for most Mexicans. With the new Mazatlán – Durango highway there are more people enjoying the beach here than ever, with the expectation being around 500,000 visitors. As you can see from the panorama picture above, the beaches are plenty full.
With so many people in town it is a bit of a nightmare driving anywhere after 10 in the morning, but we just stay close to home for the week. This year the city has created a party zone on Wednesday through Saturday at Olas Altas that they call BandoDromo. Four or five bands play until the early hours of the morning and the beer drinking and dancing is isolated in this area. Tonight (Saturday) there are supposed to be fireworks, too!
That leaves the rest of the malecón as a “family zone” without lots of partying and beer drinking. Traffic has been rerouted here and there with some success, but I don’t know first hand since we’ve been staying in Centro.
Below is a picture from just North of the Fishermen’s Monument a week before Semana Santa and the one below that is from this afternoon. Quite a difference, wouldn’t you say?
Contessa
April 20, 2014Happy Easter to you both. Enjoy the people watching. I so loved watching the families when I was there last Easter.
Elena Page
April 20, 2014Big difference! We always go in mid-October and it is very quiet. We have also been during “Spring Break” when my daughter was of that age some time ago and gads, what young, mostly drunk crowds. But Semana Santa is family gatherings mostly, I believe, with some young enjoying the holiday as well. I so enjoy your photos and tellings of the doings. Wish I could be there to see it all, too. Maybe next year.
Christy
April 21, 2014I love the comparison. I remember the non holiday quiet beaches. Glad tourism is alive and well in Mazatlan.